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The Yellow Rose of Texas (song)
"The Yellow Rose of Texas" is a traditional folk song. The original love song has become associated with the legend of "how a slave named Emily Morgan helped win the battle of San Jacinto, the decisive battle in the Texas Revolution." Origin The Center for American History at the University of Texas has an unpublished early handwritten version of the song, perhaps dating from the time of the Battle of San Jacinto in 1836.Rodriguez, "The Yellow Rose Of Texas." The author is unknown; the earliest published version, by Firth, Pond and Company of New York and dated September 2, 1858, identifies the composer and arranger as "J.K."; its lyrics are "almost identical" to those in the handwritten manuscript, though it states it had been arranged and composed for the vaudeville performer Charles H. Brown. The soundtrack to the TV miniseries James A. Michener's Texas dates a version of the song to 1927 and co-credits the authorship thereof to Gene Autry. However, Don George ('I'm Beginning to See the Light') reworked the original version of the song, which Mitch Miller made into a popular recording in 1955 that knocked Bill Haley's "(We're Gonna) Rock Around The Clock" from the top of the Best Sellers chart in the U.S.http://www.steynonline.com/content/view/2414/28/ Miller's version was featured in the motion picture Giant. Actor James Dean, who starred in the movie, died when Miller's version was atop the Best Sellers chart. Legendary account The song is based on a Texas legend from the days of the Texas War of Independence. According to the legend, a woman named Emily D. West — a mulatto, and hence, the song's reference to her being "yellow" — who was seized by Mexican forces during the looting of Galveston seduced General Antonio López de Santa Anna, President of Mexico and commander of the Mexican forces. The legend credits her supposed seduction with lowering the guard of the Mexican army and facilitating the Texan victory in the Battle of San Jacinto waged in 1836 near present-day Houston. Santa Anna's opponent was General Sam Houston, who won the battle literally in minutes, and with almost no casualties. Historical account Historians assert that if West was with Santa Anna, it was not by her choice, nor did she play any part in deciding the battle. The seduction legend was largely unknown until the publication of English tourist William Bollaert's diary in the 1950s, when amateur historians propagated an embellished version. The basic factsHarris, Trudier, (1997). "The Yellow Rose of Texas: A Different Cultural View." Callaloo 20.1 pp. 8–19 at 12. appear to be that Emily West migrated to Texas from New York City in late 1835. Sources describe her as a teen or as a woman of twenty. According to one version of the legend, she became an indentured servant on the plantation of James Morgan near what was then called New Washington and is now Morgan's Point. Because of her indenture to Morgan, some historians say, she became known by his surname, as was the custom for indentured servants as well as slaves . Santa Anna reportedly saw West in April 1836 when he invaded New Washington prior to the Battle of San Jacinto. Legend states that she was forcibly placed in his camp. Allegedly, Santa Anna was with her when Texan General Sam Houston's troops arrived, forcing him to flee without weapons or armor and enabling his capture the next day. Lyrics Civil War song The song became popular with Confederate Army troops, especially those from Texas, though the last verse and the chorus are slightly different. (Last verse) :Oh my feet are torn and bloody, and my heart is full of woe, :I'm going back to Georgia, to find my Uncle Joe, :You may talk about your Beauregard, sing of General Lee, :But the gallant Hood of Texas, played hell in Tennessee. This refers to famous Confederate generals Joseph Johnston, P. G. T. Beauregard, Robert E. Lee, and John Bell Hood. The chorus substitutes the word "darky" or "semetic" with "soldier". The same substitution is made throughout the song. "The Yellow Rose" In 1984, country music artists Johnny Lee and Lane Brody recorded a song called "The Yellow Rose". This song, which retained the original melody of "The Yellow Rose of Texas" but wrote new lyrics for it, was used as the title theme to a TV series also entitled The Yellow Rose and was a Number One country hit that year. See also * The Yellow Rose of Texas (flower) * The Yellow Rose of Texas David Von Erich * Kidsongs References Further reading * Brode, Douglas and Orsak, Joe (2010) "Yellow Rose of Texas: The Myth of Emily Morgan" McFarland & Company, Inc. * Bunkley, Anita (1989; reprint 1999). Emily, The Yellow Rose. Houston: Rinard Publishing. ISBN * Turner, Martha Anne (1971) "The Yellow Rose of Texas: The Story of a Song," Southwestern Studies, Monograph No. 31. University of Texas at El Paso: Texas Western Press, pp. 3–19. * Turner, Martha Anne (1976) "The Yellow Rose of Texas": Her Saga and Her Song. Austin: Shoal Creek Publishers. External links * *MP3 file at Yellow Rose of Texas from amaranthpublishing.com *MIDI file and lyrics from Songs of Texas at Lone Star Junction: A Texas and Texas History Resource Category:American folk songs Category:Western music Category:Number-one singles in Australia Category:Number-one singles in the United States Category:Songs of the American Civil War Category:Songs about the United States Category:1955 singles Category:Texas culture Category:Songs about Texas it:The Yellow Rose of Texas no:The Yellow Rose of Texas